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VOORBURG – Plans to build the Vijverschool in Voorburg are meeting resistance from local residents. The century-old school in the majestic Vijverhofbuurt needs to be modernized. “The municipality must listen to us and intervene,” said a resident of the neighborhood.
“The school needs to be renovated because it no longer meets modern furnishing requirements,” says Krijn van Putten of Lucas Education. “Before you stood in front of a class, taught from the front and that was it, but now we know that children learn in different ways. And for that, we need more space. The big problem: a new school with larger interior spaces must be built on the same surface as the small old primary school.
“Of course we looked for another, easier location,” says Van Putten. ‘But there isn’t. Moreover, it is a school that is badly needed in the region. There is therefore every reason to convert the old school into a new primary school in its current location.
“Blind Wall”
Residents are worried about the plans. “I will have a blind wall 12 meters high at the property line. What does that do to my joie de vivre,” asks Martin Vreeburg, one of the residents next to the school.
The director of the Lucas Education division recognizes that the site is not ideal. “The problem is that we have to achieve something in a small place that just simply doesn’t fit.” An additional issue is that local residents want the facade of the 1931 school building to remain. To make room for the new building, the school yard has to be moved from the back to the front, and there too, there is no space. “Maybe we’ll investigate that now, if we want to use the road for school,” says Van Putten.
Modernization of former primary school causes a stir in Voorburg
“Understand that it is difficult”
Neighborhood activists want everything to stay as it is. “This is a special building and if we don’t want the biggest hog in space – a new gym – all the adjustments can just be made in the old school,” the door-keeper said. lyrics by Titia Kalker. “The old small gymnasium that the school still has will therefore be part of the new user space and the children will receive physical education lessons in schools in the area.”
“Of course, we have investigated this,” replies cluster director Van Putten. “But there is no space to exercise anywhere else. I understand that it is difficult for local residents, but there is no room for negotiation in the volume of construction. We are legally obliged to give physical education lessons and it cannot be done without, so a new gym will be built at the current location.
‘Creasing on a stamp’
The activists now hope for the support of the town hall. “In the end, it is the municipality that must pay and we hope that the councilors will not sign at the cross,” says Titia Kalker. “We think a modern school would be a good fit here, but not with all the extra facilities that Lucas Education wants here.” It’s such a small field here. That’s too much stuffing on a stamp. It doesn’t fit here.
In a written response, the responsible alderman Juliette Bouw declares that the realization of the gymnasium in another place is “not desirable”. “Because then 250 children have to travel several times a week within the municipality, because there is no longer a gymnasium at school. In addition, children’s physical education is becoming more and more important to grow up healthy and fit.
“Going through a careful process”
The alderman is aware of the concerns of local residents regarding the new construction. “That’s why we follow a careful process with a focus group and information evenings where we talk to the neighborhood. The final decision on the construction (renovation) is taken by the city council, during which all considerations of the parties involved are heard.
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